Willing to Listen
by Ybarra87
Summary: A fourteen year old Lincoln had just got out of a certain disaster at the mall when he notices an older girl crying. Being the person he is he couldn't exactly ignore it and decided to find out what was wrong. To his surprise it happens to be a friend of his sister Leni who doesn't really like him. I do not own anything belonging to the Loud House.


**This was an idea that came to me and I wanted to tell. ****Anyway I hope you enjoy.**

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It was a beautiful summer day in Royal Woods, a fourteen year old Lincoln Loud was currently at the mall. Now you may think he was spending his time at the arcade but that was not the case as he exited the food court giving a loud exhausted sigh that would beat the sighs his little sister Lucy gives. "How long are they going to keep setting me up with their friends?" Lincoln asked himself. "I get they want what's best for me but I wish they understand that I'm not interested in dating anytime soon." Lincoln then said as he walked by away from the food court but stopped when he noticed an older girl crying.

Now a normal boy would just keep on walking by at the sight of a girl crying but for Lincoln it was different. He was a boy with ten sisters and as a result of living with them, he was sensitive and caring when a girl was crying. Lincoln was about to approach her and ask her what was wrong until he got a good look at her and recognized her. It was Leni's friend, Fiona. Lincoln couldn't help but remember what he and Clyde put her through three years ago when they were investigating the store Leni worked at to find out what had happened to the missing scarves Leni was accused of stealing. They had caused her a lot of trouble in the store because of their investigation not to mention they even suspected her of stealing the scarves but in the end they discovered it was the store manager's son who had taken them. Leni had gotten her job back shortly afterwards but it didn't get Fiona to forget what he and Clyde did. Sure he tried apologizing but she wouldn't take it and told him to get lost. Still Lincoln wanted to do something to make things right so he came up with a gift that she had no idea he was behind.

Lincoln just gave a sigh as he watched her cry. He knew Fiona didn't like him but he was determined to at least check on her, especially since she was Leni's friend. "Are you okay?" He asked her the moment he was close to her.

Fiona just took a break from her crying to see who was talking to her only to give an annoyed look to see it was her friend Leni's little brother Lincoln. It had been three years since she had actually talked to him but she had a good reason not to since she was still mad about the mess that both him and his friend had caused at the store three years ago. Sure he had tried to apologize to her about what he did and explain to her the reason why but she really didn't want to hear it from him. Once she disliked someone it was basically impossible for her to forgive them or change her mind about them. "What do you want?" She asked him as she tried wipe away her tears.

"I notice you crying and I wanted to see if you were alright." Lincoln replied. "Did something happen?"

"It's none of your business!" Fiona shouted at him hoping he would go away but then began to wonder why he would ask her if she was alright . "Why do you even care?" She then asked him.

"Well I saw that you were crying and since I have ten sisters I sort of have this habit to comfort them whenever they're crying or sad. However it eventually grew to the point where I would try to comfort any girl who was crying." Lincoln answered as Fiona just gave him a stunned look that there was a boy who actually cared about a girl's feelings and try to find out what was bothering them but before she could say anything Lincoln continued. "Plus you also happen to be Leni's friend and while I know you don't like me, I thought I should at least see if you're okay for Leni's sake."

Fiona just gave a sigh, too be honest she did want to talk to someone but she knew if she talked to one of her friends they would just say they told her so. "If you must know my boyfriend just broke up with me." Fiona answered as Lincoln just sat down next to her.

"I take it you didn't see it coming?" Lincoln asked.

"No I didn't." Fiona replied as she shook her head. "Too be honest I thought things were going okay. I mean sure he wanted to do some stuff that I wasn't ready for and I told him that but I never thought it would be the reason he would break up with me!"

"Let me guess he said some stuff to you that you never expected him to say am I right?"

Fiona just looked at Lincoln and saw the understanding look he had in his eyes. "He did." She responded as she gave a nod and a sad look appeared on her face. "He told me that the only reason why he was going out with me was because no one else would. That I was nothing but a cold hearted bitch that scares everyone and won't ever have a decent relationship. He also told me that I would end up dying alone." Lincoln just gave a frown hearing that. "My friends told me that I shouldn't go out with him, that he didn't deserve me and to be honest I knew that. It's just that he was the first person to ever give me attention in a long time. In case you haven't figured it out I sort of come off as cold and distant, that sort of scares off everyone who tried to approach me." Fiona then gave an uncertain look and then said. "I don't know maybe I should of done the stuff he wanted to do then maybe we would still be together."

"No you did the right thing breaking up with him Fiona!" Lincoln shouted surprising her when he did that. "Fiona, you are a hard working and smart girl. Leni thinks highly of you, in fact she was telling Lori about how you are going to college for classes on to run a fashion business."

"Wait a minute. How do you know that?" Fiona asked thinking he was ease dropping on a conversation Leni was having with her older sister.

"The walls in our house are ridiculously thin. None of us can have a private conversation without anyone else finding out but that's besides the point. The point is Fiona you shouldn't care about what other people think of you. It's their fault for judging you without even taking a chance to get to know you and that's there loss, not yours. Besides you have other people who are your friends and care about you, Leni being one of them. As for your boyfriend, frankly he didn't deserve you since he never really got to know you and only had one thing on his mind. That just makes him a massive loser to me and to be honest I believe you will meet someone better than him. He did you a favor breaking up with you." Lincoln responded.

Fiona just gave a small smile hearing that. "You know you certainly have the ability to say the right thing because I no longer feel upset. It's like you done this before." She replied.

Lincoln just gave a small sigh. "I have ten sisters, Fiona. There are times where they come home heart broken and being their brother I do my best to comfort them and tell them the right things as well as give them advice on what to do next." He said.

"Well do you have any advice for me on what to do next?" Fiona asked hoping he would give her a good answer.

Lincoln just thought to himself for a few minutes and then answered. "I think you should go out with your friends for the night. You need to show everyone you don't need that idiot to be happy. Wear your favorite dress, you know the one Leni made for you, and have a fun night out. Take lot's of pictures and post them online, show the world that you're doing great and nothing is going to get you down." He said.

Fiona just gave a small smile as she then nodded. "You're right, I should have a night out having fun and it has been a while since I wore my favorite dress." She said as she then paused for a moment and looked at Lincoln. "Wait a minute. How did you know Leni made me a dress, let alone it was my favorite?" She asked him while staring him straight in the eyes.

Lincoln knew he had no choice but to tell her the truth since she was basically staring him down like his sisters would when they wanted to know what he was up to. "Alright I'll tell you but you need to know I was trying to make things up to you for what I did three years ago to you at the store you worked at." He said.

"Just tell me." Fiona responded wanting to know what exactly Lincoln did.

Lincoln just gave a sigh as he then started to talk. "Well you see after all the trouble both Clyde and me both caused you, I tried to apologize to you but you wouldn't accept it. Now I wanted to at least show you I was sorry but I knew you would reject every attempt I made. I knew I needed to at least to something and that's when it came to me: I would design a dress for you and have Leni make it for you."

Fiona just stared at Lincoln in disbelief at what she just told her. "You helped design my dress?"

"Yeah I did. You see I happen to be really good at drawing comic book characters so I made a drawing of you and imagine what would be perfect for you. I then approached Leni with my drawing and kind of tricked her into making it by showing her the drawing which she loved and said it was a shame that no one could make the dress into a real thing. That got her to try and make it which she succeeded. When she was done she showed it to me and I just told her it was a shame that there was no one out there who would be perfect for the dress. Since Leni used the picture I made of you wearing the dress it was only naturally she would come up with the idea to give it to you."

Fiona just looked at Lincoln in shock since she had no idea that he was behind the creation of her favorite dress. Too be honest if she knew the truth back then she would of just destroyed it but thinking about it now she was glad she didn't find out the truth then. That dress had became one of her favorite dresses to wear and it was also the thing that made her want to become friends with Leni. Fiona then gave a sigh. "As much as I want to be mad that you were the one to come up with the idea of my favorite dress. It happens to be my favorite and it was also the thing that made me become friends with Leni. In fact when I first saw it I just knew it was perfect for me and fell in love with it at first sight." She said as she gave him a small smile. "I'm curious what made you come up with that design for my dress?" She then asked.

"Well during the time I was trying to apologize to you, I sort of observed you from a distance." Lincoln replied as he gave an ashamed look. "I saw how hard you worked and the dresses you admired but couldn't afford in the store. It then came to me to have Leni make you a dress that would be perfect for you so I watched you for a bit longer until the design for your dress came to me."

Fiona just remained silent for a minute after hearing that. "I know this is late but could you at least tell me why you and your friend were causing trouble for me at the store three years ago?" She asked.

"Well I did it for Leni." Lincoln responded as he began to tell her about how Leni got fired for the blue scarves going missing and that he and Clyde knew she would never do anything like that and set out to clear her name. As Lincoln told her everything that happened Fiona began to realize that she misjudged Lincoln. She now saw that he was a good brother, who could be a bit misguided at times, and would do anything to help out his sisters when they need help.

Fiona just gave a sigh. "I know this is late but I forgive you." She said. "I really didn't know the whole reason behind it and I'm sorry."

"No you had every right to be mad at Clyde and me." Lincoln said as he shook his head.

"You were just trying to help out your sister and I'm glad you did. It's thanks to you that Leni became my friend and I'm thankful for that." Fiona replied as she gave Lincoln a small smile.

"Are you going to be okay now?" Lincoln then asked as Fiona just gave a nod.

"Yeah, I think I'll be fine. I'm going to do what you suggested and have a night out with my friends." She replied.

"That's good." Lincoln said as he got up. "Now I better get home now. I know Lola is going to rip me a new on so the sooner I get home the better." However before he could walk away Fiona grabbed his hand.

"It's sounds like you have your own problem." She said as he looked at her. "Why don't you tell me about it?"

"It's my problem, I don't want to waste your time." Lincoln responded as Fiona held on tightly to his hand.

"Hey you listened to my problem and gave me some good advice. I should at least try to do the same." Fiona said as she looked at Lincoln.

Lincoln just gave a sigh since he knew there was no way out of this and sat back down. "Very well." He said. "It all started when I developed a crush on a new girl who enrolled in our school shortly before the school year ended and tried to confess my feelings to her only to be rejected. She had a valid reason for rejecting me since she pointed out I basically knew nothing about and went ahead and confessed to her out of nowhere. I couldn't help but realize how right she was since I knew nothing about her and that got me thinking maybe I should wait a while before I get a girlfriend. I made the choice to avoid getting a girlfriend for a while until I believe I am ready. However my sisters found out about me being rejected and instead of listening to the whole story they decided that they knew what was best for me and began to set me up with some friends of theirs that were around my age when the summer started. I been going out on several blind dates ever since summer began and each girl they set me up with is a nightmare."

"Did you try telling them you weren't interested?" Fiona asked.

"I've tried but they made it clear that I was going to go out with their friends or I would be put in a body cast for the summer." Lincoln answered as he gave a sigh. "To make things worst they making bets about whose friend I'll fall in love with. So far I have been on dates with eight of their friends. The only ones I haven't gone out with is Lily, which won't happen since she has no friends my age and Leni, which also won't happen because she doesn't have any blind friends. Yeah apparently Leni thinks blind date means going out with a blind person and it's something my sisters won't correct her on since it takes her out of the bet."

"Yeah that sounds like Leni." Fiona replied as she then asked. "Just how bad was each date?"

Lincoln just gave a sigh that would put any sighs Lucy gave to shame. "Bad." He said as he got started. "First was the girl Lori set me up with who happens to be the little sister of a friend of hers. The girl would not put down her phone for one second and would barely say a word to me. I mean I was trying to have a decent conversation with her but all she did was send me texts. I ended up leaving after five minutes. Then there was the girl my genius little sister Lisa set me up with who happened to be a genius associate around her age. Apparently she thought having a blind date with me was a valid excuse to perform experiments on me."

Fiona just gave a shocked look hearing that. "Your little sister's friend tried to experiment on you?"

"She wasn't exactly a friend of Lisa's just someone she knew." Lincoln replied. "After that there was my sister Luna's friend whose idea of a date was to sneak into a rock concert so she could steal a lock of her favorite rock star's hair, I ended up in concert jail because of that. After her was my sister Lucy's friend whose place of having a date at was a blood bank. You don't know how many stares we got when she tried making a withdraw from there! I just got out of there when I heard them threaten to call the cops. After that there was the older sister of Lana's friend who happens to be firm believer in eating only trash and garbage. After her there was Luan's friend who happened to be someone she knew from mime class, she refused to break out of her mime character throughout the entire date so I couldn't have a conversation with her. Then my sister Lynn set me up with a friend of hers from karate class who just saw me as a practice dummy!"

Fiona couldn't help but feel sorry for Lincoln. "Well it sounds like you just came from a blind date am I right?" She asked.

"Oh yeah." Lincoln answered. "It happened to be an older pageant girl who my sister Lola knows. She happened to be a very vain person who kept talking about all the pageants she won and refused to let me speak. She just told me it was an honor to be out with her and that I shouldn't waste saying a word since it would take attention off of her, I just got up and left hearing that. I just know Lola is going to go off on me just for leaving her but I couldn't stand to be around her much longer."

"So what are you going to do when you get home?" Fiona asked as she gave him a concerned look. "It sounds like they're just going to set you up with another date."

"Yeah they probably will." Lincoln replied.

"Then you need to tell them to stop." Fiona said as Lincoln looked at her.

"They're not going to listen, they claim they know what's best for me and that just makes them determined to make it happen against any objections I make."

"Then you need to figure out a way to make them listen. There has got to be one way to make them listen. What about your mom and dad?"

"They only get involved if they have to. They mostly make it where we have to settle our problems ourselves."

Fiona just gave a sigh. "Well I really don't know what to tell you Lincoln. I mean you need to stand up to them and tell them no more dates." She said as Lincoln gave a nod.

"I know I do." He said as his phone started ringing as he saw it was his sister Lola. "It's my sister Lola, I need to take this." He said as he got up and answered it only to be startled by the screeching sound of Lola's screaming.

"LINCOLN!" Lola screamed out. "My friend just called me to tell me how you left her after five minutes only to flirt with an old lady!"

A tick mark just formed on Fiona's face as she heard that. "I'm nineteen!" She shouted.

"Who said that?" Lola asked only for Lincoln to answer quickly.

"That's not important Lola." He answered. "I left your friend because she would not stop talking about herself and refused to let me speak since I would be taking attention off of her."

"Oh come on Lincoln she isn't that bad." Lola replied. "I mean you should be honored that you were able to go out with her so you should give her another chance."

Just then the voices of Lincoln's other sisters could be heard. "Oh no you don't Lola!" Lynn shouted. "The girl you chose wasn't good enough for Lincoln so now it's time for one of us to pick out another girl for him!"

"I happen to have a friend with another little sister around Lincoln's age who would be perfect for him!" Lori shouted.

"No he should go out with a friend of mine from my ventriloquist class. He's going to love her and her dummy, she takes her everywhere she goes!" Luan yelled out.

As Lincoln's sisters argued about who Lincoln should go out with next, Lincoln began to get angry. "No more dates!" He screamed out getting their attention and impressing Fiona. "I told you I'm not interested in dating right now or getting a girlfriend but you won't listen! So let me tell you this once and for all, I'm not going out on any more blind dates and if you don't like it tough! It's my life not yours so allow me to live it!"

"You do know I will turn you into a human pretzel if you don't go out with my friend's little sister right?" Lori asked as Lincoln's other sisters agreed and made their own threats.

Lincoln just remained silent for a minute before he responded. "I know but if that's what it takes to get you to stop then fine. The pain you put me through will be worth it since I won't have to go out with any more of the girls you picked out for me." He said. "Besides you can explain to Mom and Dad why you decided to beat me up. I'm pretty sure they would love to hear about the dates you basically forced upon me against my will let alone the betting pool you have going on. I wonder how they would respond to knowing this?"

Lincoln's sisters just gave a silent pause hearing that and began to talk. "Fine Lincoln we won't set you up with anymore dates." Lori replied.

"Good." Lincoln said as he then hung up and turned towards Fiona. "Thanks for that advice. Hopefully I won't have anymore dates."

"Well you helped me by giving me advice so it's only natural I give you some advice. I just surprised you were willing to put yourself in danger just to get it to stop." Fiona replied.

"Well it was the only way to make them stop." Lincoln said. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah I'll be fine. What about you?"

"I think I'll be okay. It was nice talking to you." Lincoln said as he walked away.

"You too." Fiona said as she got up and went home.

Later that night Fiona did what Lincoln suggested and had a night out with her friends making sure Leni was also invited making sure she wore her favorite dress. She had casually asked Leni what caused her to inspire to make her dress in hopes she could see the drawing Lincoln had made if she still had it. Luckily she did and she shown it to Fiona. Fiona couldn't help but be impressed at the drawing Lincoln made of her wearing the dress. She just knew right then and there that Lincoln would make a girl very happy some day but that's only when he's ready for a relationship. As for Fiona she decided to take it one day at a time living her life the way it makes her happy.

THE END


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